Packages for storing products and methods of making and using such packages

ABSTRACT

The invention provides packages for storing consumable products and methods for making and using same. The packages may include containers housed within a housing, which may include at least one viewable area in a wall of the housing to allow a consumer to see through at least a portion of the housing. The containers may also include at least one viewable area in a wall of the containers and the location of the viewable area may correspond to a location of the viewable area of the housing. The containers may also be connected such that the containers may be removed from the housing, rotated about a hinged connection, and placed on a shelf for storage.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 ofPCT/US2009/002974 filed May 13, 2009, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/127,433 filed May 13, 2008, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to packages and packaging andparticularly to packages and packaging useful for displaying and storingconsumable products.

2. Description of Related Art

Packaging for consumable products is important both with respect to themarketing and storage of the products contained therein. As such,packages for consumable products come in a variety of sizes, shapes, anddesigns. With respect to marketing, variation of these characteristicscan convey important information to the consumer including the productbrand, flavor, or type of product contained within the package.Similarly, varying the sizes, shapes, and designs of the packaging mayalso provide advantages with respect to storage of the product. Forexample, packaging can often be bulky and require large amounts of shelfspace to be stored by the consumer. Since many packages do not meetthese requirements, there is, therefore, a need for new an innovativepackaging that allows the consumer to view the product form variousperspectives and that can be manipulated to conserve shelf space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides packages for storing and marketingconsumable products and methods of making and using such packages. Inparticular, the packages of the present invention may be used toincrease marketability of the products contained in the packages and toreduce the amount of space required to store the packages.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a package comprising a firstcontainer having a front wall and a back wall hingedly connected to asecond container having a front wall and a back wall between at least afirst position and a second position. The front walls of the first andsecond containers may be oriented in opposing directions in the firstposition and in a same direction in the second position. The first andsecond containers may be hingedly connected by a connection having acharacteristic selected from the group consisting of perforations,etching, weakened portions, or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers include at least one viewable area. Theviewable areas include a portion of the package wherein a consumer cansee through the portion of the package. For example, the viewable areasmay be a hole defined by a portion of the package, a window with atransparent material, or the like. The viewable area may be located onthe housing, the containers, or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers may house a plurality of products,including products in other types of packages containing the products.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a package comprising afirst container including a back wall having a first viewable area and asecond container hingedly connected to the first container and includinga back wall with a second viewable area. The first and second containersmay be hingedly connected by a connection having a characteristicselected from the group consisting of perforations, etching, weakenedportions, or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers may include at least one viewable area.The viewable areas may include a portion of the package wherein aconsumer can see through the portion of the package. For example, theviewable areas may be a hole defined by a portion of the package, awindow with a transparent material, or the like.

In an embodiment, the containers may house a plurality or products,including products in other types of packages containing the products.

In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a package comprisingat least two containers hingedly connected to each other, each of the atleast two containers including two side walls, a back wall and a frontwall. Each of the side walls may include a curved portion extendingdownwardly from a back wall to a front wall. The curved portion mayextend from a top of the back wall to a top of the front wall. The atleast two containers may be hingedly connected by a connection having acharacteristic selected from the group consisting of perforations,etching, weakened portions, or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers may include at least one viewable area.The viewable areas may include a portion of the package wherein aconsumer can see through the portion of the package. For example, theviewable areas may be a hole defined by a portion of the package, awindow with a transparent material, or the like. The viewable area maybe located on the housing, the containers, or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers may house a plurality or products,including products in other types of packages containing the products.The plurality of products or packages may have a height that is greaterthan a height of the front walls of the at least two containers.

In still yet another embodiment, the invention provides a packagecomprising a housing having at least one viewable area at a firstlocation, at least two connected containers housed within the housingand having at least one viewable area at a second location correspondingto the first location, and a package having indicia thereon. The indiciaof the package may be visible through both the viewable area at thefirst location and the viewable area at the second location.

In an embodiment, the containers and/or the housing may include at leastone viewable area. The viewable areas may include a portion of thepackage wherein a consumer can see through the portion of the package.For example, the viewable areas may be a hole defined by a portion ofthe package, a window with a transparent material, or the like. Theviewable area may be located on the housing, the containers, orcombinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers may house a plurality or products,including products in other types of packages containing the products.The packages may include indicia that are indicative of a property of aconsumable product contained within the packages. A location of theindicia may correspond to a location of a viewable area. The location ofthe viewable area may include viewable areas on the housing, thecontainers, or combinations thereof. For example, in an embodiment, thelocation of the indicia corresponds to the location of the viewableareas on the containers. Similarly, in an embodiment, the locations ofthe indicia and the location of the viewable areas on the containerscorrespond to the location of the viewable areas on the housing.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a package comprising ahousing having at least one viewable area at a first location and atleast two hingedly connected containers housed within the housing andhaving at least one indicia at a second location corresponding to thefirst location.

In an embodiment, the containers and/or housing may include at least oneviewable area. The viewable areas may include a portion of the packagewherein a consumer can see through the portion of the package. Forexample, the viewable areas may be a hole defined by a portion of thepackage, a window with a transparent material, or the like. The viewablearea may be located on the housing, the containers, or combinationsthereof.

In an embodiment, the housing includes two viewable areas. The twoviewable areas may be located at opposing ends of the housing and onopposing walls of the housing.

In yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method for storingproducts in a package. The method comprises removing a first containerand a second container from a housing, wherein the first container ishingedly connected to the second container, rotating the secondcontainer from a first position, wherein the first and second containersare oriented in opposing directions, to a second position, wherein thefirst and second containers are in a same direction, and storing thefirst and second containers in the second position.

In an embodiment, the rotating occurs about a vertical axis defined bythe hinged connection.

In an embodiment, the first and second containers are stored on a pantryshelf.

In still yet another embodiment, the invention provides a method fordisplaying products in a package. The method comprises housing at leasttwo connected containers in a housing, the containers including at leastone viewable area, aligning the at least one viewable area of thecontainers with at least one viewable area of the housing, anddisplaying the package. The package may be displayed in a positionselected from the group consisting of vertical, horizontal, orcombinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers and/or housing may include at least oneviewable area. The viewable areas may include a portion of the packagewherein a consumer can see through the portion of the package. Forexample, the viewable areas may be a hole defined by a portion of thepackage, a window with a transparent material, or the like. The viewablearea may be located on the housing, the containers, or combinationsthereof.

In an embodiment, the method includes packaging a consumable product ina package. The package may then be inserted into at least one of thefirst and second containers. The at least one of the first and secondcontainers may then be inserted into the housing.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for displayingproducts in a package. The method comprises housing at least twoconnected containers in a housing, the containers including at least oneindicia, aligning the at least one indicia of the containers with atleast one viewable area of the housing, and displaying the package. Thepackage may be displayed in a position selected from the groupconsisting of vertical, horizontal, or combinations thereof.

In an embodiment, the containers and/or housing may include at least oneviewable area. The viewable areas may include a portion of the packagewherein a consumer can see through the portion of the package. Forexample, the viewable areas may be a hole defined by a portion of thepackage, a window with a transparent material, or the like. The viewablearea may be located on the housing, the containers, or combinationsthereof.

In an embodiment, the method includes packaging a consumable product ina package. The package may then be inserted into at least one of thefirst and second containers. The at least one of the first and secondcontainers may then be inserted into the housing.

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will now be setforth. It should be noted that not all of these advantages may be met byany specific embodiment of the present invention. An advantage of thepresent invention is to provide an improved package. It is also anadvantage of the present invention to provide an improved package forstoring a product. Another advantage of the present invention is toprovide an improved package for reducing the required storage space ofthe package. Still yet another advantage of the present invention is toprovide a package capable of being stored in different configurations.It is also an advantage of the present invention to provide an improvedpackage for marketing a product. It is a further advantage of thepresent invention to provide improved methods for storing a package.Another advantage of the present invention is to provide improvedmethods for marketing products in a package.

Other and further objects, features, and advantages of the inventionwill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates a package in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates two containers positioned in a side-by-sidearrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates two containers positioned in a front-to-backarrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates two connected containers in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally provides packages, methods for marketingproducts contained in packages, and methods for storing productscontained in packages. More specifically, the present invention providespackages for containing consumable products that improve themarketability of the products and reduce the amount of space required tostore the products. For example, the packages are designed to provide aunique viewable area, or combinations of viewable areas, that allow theconsumer to visually identify a property or characteristic associatewith the product by looking through the viewable area of the package.Moreover, the packages may also be arranged such that the amount ofstorage space required to store the product on, for example, a pantryshelf after a consumer purchases the product is reduced. Specifically,the packages may be hingedly connected between a first position, uponbeing removed from a housing, and a second position to be stored by theconsumer.

As shown in FIG. 1, an embodiment of a package of the present inventionis generally designated by the numeral 10. The package 10 includes ahousing 12 that houses at least one container 14 and includes at leastone viewable area 16. Similarly, the container 14 may also include atleast one viewable area, as will be further discussed below. As shown inFIG. 1, the container 14 may house one or more packages 18, which mayserve as individual storage packages for the product that is intended tobe stored by package 10.

The housing 12 may be manufactured from any material known in the artand used for manufacturing packages. For example, the housing 12 may beformed from any suitable material including, but not limited to,plastic, foil, composites, paper, paperboard, cardboard, and the like,and combinations thereof. In an embodiment, the housing 12 is formedfrom a paperboard material. Similarly, the housing 12 may take on anyshape or size and should not be limited to any particular size or shape,so as long as the container(s) 14 are able to be housed therein.

As shown in FIG. 1, in an embodiment, the housing 12 is generally shapedas a rectangular sleeve. However, the housing 12 may be any suitablesize and shape including, but not limited to, cubic, rectangular,pyramidal, cylindrical, conical, spherical shapes, and combinationsthereof. Similarly, the housing 12 need not necessarily be a sleeve thathas two open ends. Instead, the housing 12 may take any form including,but not limited to, a box that completely encloses the container(s) 14,a sleeve having two open ends, a compartment having one open side orend, or the like, and combinations thereof. As such, the skilled artisanwill appreciate that the dimensions and shape of the housing 12 may varyas desired.

The housing 12 of the present invention may also have any number ofviewable areas 16. Providing viewable areas 16 in the package 10 allowsa consumer to see an indicia 30 through a portion of the package 10 andto quickly identify a property or characteristic that is associated withthe product. As such, the indicia 30 may be indicative of a property orcharacteristic of the product contained within the package 10. Moreover,the ability of a manufacturer to vary the features of the indicia 30 mayhelp to draw the consumer's attention to the product, thereby increasingconsumer appeal in the product.

As used herein, a viewable area 16 is an area of the packaging thatallows a consumer to see through at least a portion of the packaging.For example, a viewable area 16 may include, but is not limited to, ahole, a cut-out, a window having a transparent material, and the like,and combinations thereof. The viewable area 16 may also include, forexample, any number of holes, cut-outs, or windows having transparentmaterials, so long as a consumer is able to see through at least theportion of the packaging corresponding to the location of the viewablearea 16. In an embodiment, the housing 12 includes a viewable area 16that is a hole defined by the housing 12. In another embodiment, thehousing 12 includes a viewable area 16 that is a window having atransparent material. The transparent material may be any see-throughmaterial that will allow a consumer to see though a portion of thepackage. For example, the transparent material may be any plastic,glass, composite material, and the like, and combinations thereof.Further, the transparent material may also be tinted with a color.

Although the viewable areas 16 shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 4 are shown aswindows having transparent materials, the skilled artisan willappreciate that the form and dimensions of the viewable areas 16 mayvary as desired. Accordingly, the viewable areas 16 are not limited toany particular size or shape as long as the viewable areas 16 allow aconsumer to see through a portion of the package. For example, theviewable areas 16 may have any shape including, but not limited to,cylindrical, conical, circular, semi-circular, elliptical,semi-elliptical, a biconvex lens or football shape, a crescent, or anypolygon such as, for example, a square, rectangle, triangle, etc., andcombinations thereof. Similarly, the viewable areas 16 may take any formincluding, but not limited to, holes, cut-outs, windows, or the like, asdescribed above.

Since the viewable areas 16 are designed to allow a consumer to seethrough a portion of the package 10, in an embodiment, the viewableareas 16 of the housing 12 may be designed to allow a consumer to seethrough the housing 12. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a viewable area16 in the housing 12 that is a window having a transparent material thatallows a consumer to see through the housing 12 to see the indicia 30.The indicia 30 may be located on a wall of the containers 14 such thatthe indicia 30 may be visible through the viewable area 16 of thehousing 12 when the containers 14 are inside the housing 12. In orderfor the indicia 30 to be viewable through the viewable area 16, however,the location of the indicia 30 on the wall of the container 14 mustcorrespond to a location of the viewable area 16 on the housing 12.

Alternatively, the indicia 30 may be located on one or more packages 18that are located within the container 14. The packages 18 may be anypackages known in the art for individually wrapping and/or sealingpackages that are used to store the products. For example, packages 18may be individually sealed packages containing consumable productsincluding but not limited to, pet foods. The skilled artisan willappreciate, however, that the packages 18 may be used to package orstore any type of consumable food product.

In an embodiment where the indicia 30 is located on one or more packages18, both the housing 12 and the containers 14 may have viewable areas16, 28. Moreover, in an embodiment where the indicia 30 is located onone or more packages 18, the location of the indicia 30 on the packages18, the location of a viewable area 28 of the container 14, and thelocation of a viewable area 16 of the housing 12 must all correspond toeach other. For example, in an embodiment wherein indicia 30 is locatedon the packages 18, FIG. 1 illustrates how the viewable area 16 of thehousing 12, a viewable area 28 (not shown in FIG. 1) of the container14, and indicia 30 all align in such a manner that indicia 30 is visiblethrough viewable area 28 of the container 14 and the viewable area 16 ofthe housing 12.

The indicia 30 may depict any symbol, object, alpha-numericrepresentation, letter, word, text, shape, fanciful shape, image,graphic, color, advertising indicia, nutritional information, ingredientinformation, manufacturer information, barcoding, or product identifiersor combinations thereof as desired. As such, the indicia 30 may beindicative of a property, characteristic, aspect, attribute, component,element, quality, etc. that is associate with the product contained inthe package 18. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates an indicia 30 that isindicative of the type of product contained in the plurality of packages18 in the containers 14. Specifically, the indicia 30 of FIG. 1 mayrepresent that the product contained within the packages 18 is a petfood product that is, for example, fish-flavored.

However, the indicia 30 of FIG. 1 may be any indicia 30 relating to theproduct contained in the packages 18. For example, the indicia 30 may bea chicken to indicate that the product contained in the packages 18 ischicken-flavored. Similarly, the indicia 30 may also be dog to indicatethat the product is a pet food intended for dogs. Further, the indicia30 may also be a brand that is associated with a company thatmanufactures, for example, a pet food.

The container(s) 14 of FIG. 1 may be removed from the housing 12 byeither gripping the containers 14 and pulling the containers 14 out ofthe housing 12, or by pushing the containers 14 out of the housing 12.In an embodiment, the housing 12 of the present invention is designed tohouse at least two containers 14. However, the skilled artisan willappreciate that the housing 12 may house any number of containers 14including, for example, more or less than two containers 14.

The containers 14 may be manufactured from any material known in the artand used for manufacturing packages, as discussed above. For example,the containers 14 may be formed from any suitable material including,but not limited to, plastic, foil, composites, paper, paperboard,cardboard, and the like. In an embodiment, the containers 14 are formedfrom a paperboard material.

The containers 14 are not limited to any particular size or shape aslong as the containers 14 are able to be housed within the housing 12.As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 12 may be generally shaped as arectangular sleeve. As such, the containers 14 may also be generallyrectangular or cubic shapes. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates anembodiment of the present invention having two containers 14 a, 14 bthat have been removed from the housing 12. The containers 14 a, 14 bare generally rectangularly shaped. However, the skilled artisan willappreciate that the containers 14 a, 14 b may be any suitable size andshape including, but not limited to, cubic, rectangular, pyramidal,cylindrical, conical, spherical shapes, and combinations thereof.Accordingly, the housing 12 may also be any suitable size and shape, asdiscussed above.

As shown in FIG. 2, the generally rectangularly shaped containers 14 a,14 b of an embodiment of the present invention may have a slightlymodified rectangular shape. For example, each side panel 20 a, 20 b, 20c, 20 d of the containers 14 a, 14 b may include a curved portion 22 a,22 b extending from a back wall 24 a, 24 b of the containers 14 a, 14 bto a front wall 26 a, 26 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b. The curvedportion 22 a, 22 b may have any degree of curvature and may extend fromany location along the back wall 24 a, 24 b of the containers 14 a, 14 bto any location along the front wall 26 a, 26 b of the containers 14 a,14 b. In an embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 2, the curved portion 22 a,22 b extends from the top of the back wall 24 a, 24 b of the containers14 a, 14 b to the top of the front wall 26 a, 26 b of the containers 14a, 14 b.

Similarly, the front walls 26 a, 26 b and the back walls 24 a, 24 b ofthe containers 14 a, 14 b may have any height. For example, the frontwalls 26 a, 26 b and the back walls 24 a, 24 b may be the same height.Alternatively, the front walls 26 a, 26 b and the back walls 24 a, 24 bmay have different heights. In an embodiment, the height of the backwalls 24 a, 24 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b is greater than the frontwalls 26 a, 26 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b, as is shown in FIG. 2.Although the Figures illustrate an embodiment wherein the height of theback walls 24 a, 24 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b is greater than thefront walls 26 a, 26 b of the containers, the skilled artisan willappreciate that the containers 14 may have walls 24 a, 24 b, 26 a, 26 bof any height.

The curved portions 22 a, 22 b of containers 14 a, 14 b, either alone orin combination with the difference the height between the back walls 24a, 24 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b and the front walls 26 a, 26 b ofthe containers 14 a, 14 b, may provide added benefits to the design ofthe package 10. For example, and as mentioned previously, in order toremove the container 14 from the housing 12, a consumer may be requiredto pull the container 14 out of the housing 12. Alternatively, aconsumer may also be able to push the container 14 out of an oppositeside of the housing 12. However, in an embodiment wherein the consumerdesires, or is required, to pull the container 14 out of the housing 12,the curved portions 22 a, 22 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b may allowthe consumer to sufficiently grip the container 14 a, 14 b in order todo so, as is shown by FIG. 1.

Further, the curved portions 22 a, 22 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b mayprovide a consumer with easy access to the packages 18 when thecontainers 14 a, 14 b have been removed from the housing 12. Forexample, in an embodiment, the packages 18 may have a height that isgreater than the height of the container 14 a at the curved portion 22a, as is shown by FIG. 2. As such, the consumer may be able to easilygrip either side of the packages 18 that are positioned near the frontwall 26 a of the container 14 a to lift the packages 18 out of thecontainer 14 a without the side walls 20 a, 20 b of the container 14 aobstructing such action.

The containers 14 of the present invention may also have any number ofviewable areas 28. The viewable areas 28 of the containers 28 aresimilar to the viewable areas 16 already discussed with respect to thehousing 12. As such, a viewable area 28 is an area of the packaging thatallows a consumer to see through at least a portion of the packaging.For example, a viewable area 28 may include, but is not limited to, ahole, a cut-out, a window having a transparent material, or the like.The viewable area 28 may also include, for example, any number of holes,cut-outs, or windows having transparent materials, so long as a consumeris able to see through at least a portion of the packaging. In anembodiment, and as shown in FIG. 2, the viewable areas 28 a, 28 b maybe, respectively, a semi-circular hole defined by the front wall 26 a ofthe first container 14 a and a window having a transparent material inthe back wall 24 b of the second container 14 b.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates the first container 14 a as having asemi-circular hole and the second container 14 b as having a window witha transparent material, the skilled artisan will appreciate that theform and dimensions of the viewable areas 28 may vary as desired or inaccordance with manufacturing specifications. Accordingly, the viewableareas 28 are not limited to any particular size or shape as long as theviewable areas 28 allow a consumer to see through a portion of thepackage. For example, the viewable areas 28 may have any shapeincluding, but not limited to, cylindrical, conical, circular,semi-circular, elliptical, semi-elliptical, a biconvex lens or footballshape, a crescent, or any polygon such as, for example, a square,rectangle, triangle, etc., and combinations thereof. Similarly, theviewable areas 28 may take any form including, but not limited to,holes, cut-outs, windows, or the like, as described above.

As discussed above with respect to viewable areas 16 of the housing 12,the viewable areas 28 a, 28 b of the containers 14 a, 14 b also allowconsumers to see indicia 30 through a portion of the package 10.Specifically, viewable areas 28 a, 28 b allow consumers to see theindicia 30 through the containers 14 a, 14 b. The indicia 30 may be anyform of the indicia 30 discussed herein above with respect to FIG. 1. Assuch, the skilled artisan will appreciate that the indicia 30 may conveyany information to the consumer regarding the product contained in thepackages 18.

FIG. 2 also illustrates an embodiment of the present invention havingtwo containers 14 a, 14 b arranged in a first position, which mayrepresent the arrangement of the containers 14 a, 14 b within thehousing 12 and immediately after the containers 14 a, 14 b are removedfrom the housing 12. As shown by FIG. 2, the first container 14 a isarranged such that the front 26 a of the container 14 a is facingforward. Alternatively, the second container 14 b is arranged such thatthe back 24 b of the container 14 b is facing forward. As such, FIG. 2demonstrates that the containers 14 a, 14 b may be positioned within thehousing 12 in a side-by-side arrangement and oriented in opposingdirections. Similarly, the containers 14 a, 14 b may also be positionedin the same, or substantially the same, side-by-side arrangement andoriented in opposing directions immediately after being removed from thehousing 12.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the present inventionwherein the containers 14 a, 14 b are positioned side-by-side and havingthe front walls 26 a, 26 b oriented in opposing directions, the skilledartisan will appreciate that the containers 14 a, 14 b need not bearranged in such an arrangement. For example, the containers 14 a, 14 bmay be arranged within the housing 12 and immediately after beingremoved therefrom in a side-by-side arrangement and having the frontwalls 26 a, 26 b oriented in the same direction. Similarly, thecontainers 14 a, 14 b may also be arranged within the housing 12 andimmediately after being removed therefrom in a front-to-back arrangementand having the front walls 26 a, 26 b oriented in the same direction.The containers 14 a, 14 b may also be arranged within the housing 12 andimmediately after being removed therefrom in a front-to-back arrangementand having the front walls 26 a, 26 b oriented in opposing directions.

Just as FIG. 2 illustrates the first container 14 a and the secondcontainer 14 b arranged in a first position wherein the containers 14 a,14 b are side-by-side, the containers 14 a, 14 b may also be arranged ina second position wherein the containers 14 a, 14 b are arrangedfront-to-back and wherein the front walls 26 a, 26 b of the containers14 a, 14 b are oriented in the same direction, as shown in FIG. 3. Toarrange the containers 14 a, 14 b in the second position, the containers14 a, 14 b may be hingedly connected, as is shown in FIG. 4. As such,the second container 14 b may be rotated about an axis defined by ahinged connection 32 from a first position to the second position, asshown in FIG. 4.

In an embodiment, the containers 14 a, 14 b of the present invention maybe formed from one single piece of material that is folded and adheredto portions of itself to form the at least two individual containers 14a, 14 b. As such, the hinged connection 32 may be formed from the samepiece of material that is used to form either portions of the containers14 a, 14 b, or the complete construction of the containers 14 a, 14 b.In another embodiment, the at least two containers 14 a, 14 b may beformed separately from each other and joined by a hinged connection 32formed of a separate material.

Regardless, however, the hinged connection 32 may include structuralcharacteristics that are introduced either during or after manufacturingof the containers 14 a, 14 b that may allow a consumer to easilyseparate the first container 14 a from the second container 14 b. Forexample, the hinged connection 32 may include characteristics such asperforations, etching, weakened portions, and the like, and combinationsthereof. The ability to separate the containers 14 a, 14 b will providethe consumer with a greater amount of flexibility and control over theamount of space required to store the products contained in the packages18 of the containers 14 a, 14 b. Similarly, the consumer may also chooseto store only one container 14 on a pantry shelf so as to be visible andeasily accessible by the consumer, while storing the remaining container14 in a cupboard or another separate location.

Therefore, in an embodiment, the containers 14 a, 14 b of the presentinvention may be removed from the housing 12 in a first position whereinthe first container 14 a and the second container 14 b are oriented inopposing directions. However, the second container 14 b may rotatedabout a hinged connection 32 in order to orient the containers 14 a, 14b in the same direction. Orienting the containers 14 a, 14 b in the samedirection provides the consumer the advantage of requiring less lateralstorage space after removing the containers 14 a, 14 b from the housing12.

Further, the ability to rotate the second container 14 b to face thesame direction, and the ability to break the connection between thefirst container 14 a and the second container 14 b allows the consumerto easily replace the first container 14 a with the second container 14b after all of the packages 18 stored in the first container 14 a havebeen used by the consumer.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present subjectmatter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is thereforeintended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appendedclaims.

1-33. (canceled)
 34. A method for storing products comprising: removinga first container and a second container from a housing, wherein thefirst container is hingedly connected to the second container; rotatingthe second container from a first position wherein the first and secondcontainers are oriented in opposing directions to a second positionwherein the first and second containers are in a same direction; andstoring the first and second containers in the second position.
 35. Themethod of claim 34 comprising rotating the second container about avertical axis defined by the hinged connection.
 36. The method of claim34 wherein the first and second containers are stored on a pantry shelf.37. A method for displaying products comprising: housing at least twoconnected containers in a housing, the containers comprising a firstviewable area in a container wall, the first viewable area surrounded bythe remainder of the container wall; aligning the first viewable area ofthe containers with a second viewable area of the housing, the housingcomprising a housing wall comprising the second viewable area, thesecond viewable area is a structure selected from the group consistingof (i) a window surrounded by the reminder of the housing wall andhaving a transparent material which is a different material than theremainder of the housing wall and (ii) a hole surrounded by the reminderof the housing wall; and displaying the at least two connectedcontainers and the housing with the first viewable area aligned with thesecond viewable area.
 38. The method of claim 37 comprising displayingthe at least two connected containers and the housing in a positionselected from the group consisting of vertical, horizontal, andcombinations thereof.
 39. The method of claim 37 wherein the secondviewable area comprises a window having a transparent material. 40-42.(canceled)
 43. The method of claim 37 comprising packaging a consumableproduct in a package.
 44. The method of claim 43 comprising insertingthe package into at least one of the first and second containers. 45.The method of claim 44 comprising inserting the first and secondcontainers into the housing.
 46. A method for displaying products in apackage comprising: housing at least two connected containers in ahousing, the containers comprising at least one indicia; aligning the atleast one indicia of the containers with a viewable area of the housing,the housing comprising a housing wall comprising the viewable area, theviewable area is a structure selected from the group consisting of (i) awindow surrounded by the reminder of the housing wall and having atransparent material which is a different material than the remainder ofthe housing wall and (ii) a hole surrounded by the reminder of thehousing wall; and displaying the at least two connected containers andthe housing with the at least one indicia of the containers aligned withthe viewable area of the housing.
 47. The method of claim 46 comprisingdisplaying the at least two connected containers and the housing in aposition selected from the group consisting of vertical, horizontal, andcombinations thereof.
 48. (canceled)
 49. (canceled)
 50. The method ofclaim 46 comprising packaging a consumable product in a package.
 51. Themethod of claim 50 comprising inserting the package into at least one ofthe first and second containers.
 52. The method of claim 51 comprisinginserting the first and second containers into the housing.
 53. Themethod of claim 34 comprising aligning a first viewable area in a backwall of the first container with a second viewable area in a wall of thehousing, the first viewable area surrounded by the remainder of the backwall of the first container, and the second viewable area is a structureselected from the group consisting of (i) a window surrounded by thereminder of the housing wall and having a transparent material which isa different material than the remainder of the housing wall and (ii) ahole surrounded by the reminder of the housing wall.
 54. The method ofclaim 53, wherein the aligning of the first viewable area with thesecond viewable area comprises positioning the first and secondcontainers within the housing.
 55. The method of claim 53, wherein thefirst container comprises a front wall opposite to the back wall, thesecond container comprises a front wall and a back wall, the front wallsof each of the first and second containers oriented in opposingdirections in the first position and a same direction in the secondposition, the front wall of the second container positioned against theback wall of the first container when in the second position.
 56. Themethod of claim 55, wherein the first container is hingedly connected tothe second container by a connection of the back wall of the firstcontainer to the front wall of the second container, and the height ofthe back wall is greater than the front wall for each of the containers.57. The method of claim 53, comprising aligning indicia of an item inthe first container with the first and second viewable areas.
 58. Themethod of claim 57, wherein the aligning of the indicia of the item inthe first container with the first and second viewable areas comprisespositioning the first and second containers within the housing.